A Forum for Orthodox Jewish thought on Halacha, Hashkafa, and the social issues of our time.

Friday, August 10, 2012

Of Truth and Belief

One of the most perplexing things for me to understand is
the concept of Orthopraxy. As currently defined, an Orthoprax Jew tends to
follow Halacha, but may question the existence of God or whether the Torah
was given to us at Sinai . And yet such people do exist. My first
encounter with such an individual was when I initiated this blog. He called
himself “Misnagid”. And he guarded his anonymity “religiously”.

That came as a shock to me at the time. I could not
understand why anyone would bother keeping the Mitzvos if he didn’t believe in
God. If I recall correctly, his answer was that he was raised as an Orthodox
Jew, married Orthodox, and lived in an Orthodox environment. It would have
radically changed his life to “come out of the closet” so to speak. So he plays
along, going through the motions for appearances sake. This even includes
sending his children to an Orthodox Jewish day school. Interestingly, he admitted that Shabbos still
meant a lot to him… that this weekly day of rest was rejuvenating to his spirit
– as it were.

I actually understand that.

Although not all Orthoprax Jews are atheists (some are just skeptics and simply doubt God's existence - not going so far as to deny it) Misnagid is an atheist. How he became one is irrelevant to this post. The point is that he is one of many such people. They
exist in all segments of Orthodoxy. I recall an interview in Mishpacha Magazine
with a Charedi Posek who was one such individual! (Since his exposure he is no longer a Posek.)

I think few people are aware how many people are Orthoprax.
How could they be? These closet skeptics and atheists must remain there if they want continue
their lives without the major upheaval that often goes along with going OTD.
They want to remain in the environment they are used to. They want the
continued acceptance by their family and friends they have always had. So they
remain Frum on the outside -atheists on the inside.

The appeal of an Orthodox lifestyle can be seen among Baalei
Teshuva. They will often choose to be observant for non theological reasons.
They believe that living their lives according to the Torah and its moral
teachings makes them better human beings. And they are meticulous in their
observances.

This appeal is apparently the case with some Jewish
atheists. Like Zeke Emanuel, Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanual’s brother. In a
Washington Post article he describes himself as a Kosher atheist:

Judaism isn’t about what people think, he seems to be
saying. It’s about what they do. It follows, according to that argument, that
it’s more Jewish to keep kosher than it is to believe unthinkingly in God.

In what has to be an amazing statement for an Orthodox
Rabbi, especially one who claims to be a practitioner of the Chabad Chasidus
and follower of the late Lubavitcher Rebbe - Rabbi Shmuley Boteach seems to
agree:

“Judaism,” he told me in a phone call, “is not a religion
primarily of faith. It is a religion primarily of practice…”

How any Orthodox Rabbi can make an unqualified statement
like that and still call himself Orthodox is beyond me. The must fundamental
tenet of Judaism is the belief in one God. The first 3 of the 10 Commandments
deal with matters of faith!

While it is true that Judaism is a religion based on acts,
those acts presuppose a belief in God. All the Mitzvos in the world are
spiritually meaningless if one does not believe in the ultimate Spiritual
Being, God.

I understand that there is a practical side to observance
that may even be its main selling point to those considering Orthodoxy. I know
people who have told me that they became observant because the lifestyle
appealed to them. They saw the community of religious Jews and found it much
more rewarding than the hedonistic ways of their friends or even siblings.

I recall at least 2 weddings where the all the siblings and
friends of 2 Baalei Teshuva getting married had lifestyles that were very self
centered and hedonistic. Lifestyles that included a great deal of non marital
sex and even drug use. None of them were interested in getting married and
having a family.

Years later these young Baalei Teshuva have several children
– all attending day schools. They lead their lives in the most ethical of ways
and their actions are motivated by the values of the Torah. Their siblings
continued to live their lives in the most self centered of ways.

Their still
secular parents who at first seen were apprehensive about their Baal Teshuva
children having “rebelled” against the secular values they tried to instill are
now enjoying being grandparents fully involved with their children and
grandchildren. But they do not have that much of a connection to from secular
children.

I think the appeal for many Baalei Teshuva is more along the
lines of the structure and steadiness of an Observant lifestyle. Not so much on
the faith aspect of Judaism. This is not to say that they aren’t believers in God.
Of course they are. But that was not what precipitated their choice to become
observant.

I am also not saying that this is always the case. There are
plenty of secular Jews who live very wholesome lives. But I think there are a
lot of Baalei Teshuva that can relate to situation I described including their
motivation to become observant.

I believe that this kind of thinking also motivates
Orthoprax atheists like Zeke Emanuel. They see the Taful (fringe benefits) and
consider it the Ikkar (essesnce). What they fail to realize is that belief in
God is the most important element of Judaism. Practicing the rituals of Judaism may help one keep his identity as a Jew. But the essence of Judaism is to do the will of God, and not to just lead the moral and ethical lifestyle of a Jew.

Nonetheless, I consider it a plus that they are observant.
That means that at some level they identify as Jews. In the event that they at
some point realize that there is a God in the world, their identification as
Jews will make all the Mitzvos they do now count. And they will not have to
make any great changes in their lifestyles.

Chazal tells us that when one does
sincere Teshuva for sins that have been committed, all of those sins turn into
Mitzvos. Perhaps that is true for those who were observant when they were
atheists. Perhaps they will then get full credit in the eyes of God for being
observant even when they didn’t believe in Him.

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About Me

My outlook on Judaism is based mostly on the teachings of my primary Rebbe, Rabbi Aaron Soloveichik from whom I received my rabbinic ordination. It is also based on a search for spiritual truth. Among the various sources that put me on the right path, two great philosophic works stand out: “Halakhic Man” and “Lonely Man of Faith” authored by the pre-eminent Jewish philosopher and theologian, Rabbi, Dr. Joseph B. Soloveitchik. Of great significance is Rabbi, Dr. Norman Lamm's conceptualization and models of Torah U’Mada and Dr. Eliezer Berkovits who introduced me to the world of philosophic thought. Among my early influences were two pioneers of American Elementary Torah Chinuch, Rabbis Shmuel Kaufman and Yaakov Levi. The Yeshivos I attended were Yeshivas Telshe for early high school and more significantly, the Hebrew Theological College where for a period of ten years, my Rebbeim included such great Rabbinic figures as Rabbis Mordechai Rogov, Shmaryahu Meltzer, Yaakov Perlow, Herzl Kaplan, and Selig Starr. I also attended Roosevelt University where I received my Bachelor's Degree - majoring in Psychology.